With the federal election only days away, UNBC professors are looking back on how students were immersed in the campaign process.
“When we began, a lot of the students weren’t really interested in politics, or they weren’t looking at voting, although a lot of them are first-time voters,” explains First Nations Studies instructor Dr. Judy Thompson.
A self-proclaimed political buff, Thompson reached out to Candidates from both Prince George ridings to visit a class, and brought in an Elections Canada worker to speak about the voting process.
The students broke down into small groups prior to the visit to make up some questions and discover more about each Candidate and what they stand for.
Liberal Tracy Calogheros, the Green’s Richard Jaques, NDP Trent Derrick, Independent Sheldon Clare, Conservative Todd Doherty, and the Christian Heritage Party’s Adam De Kroon were on hand to represent the Cariboo-Prince George, while Kathie Dickie was the lone PG-Peace River attendee.
“Because of their busy schedules as students, they probably wouldn’t have gone out to forums and debates to listen to and learn more about the candidates,” says Thomspon, “So now a lot of them have said that they feel confident voting, because they know more about the issues.”
At the October 8th UNBC all Candidates forum, a hoard of students made their presence known, earning a shout-out from the candidates during the Cariboo-PG debate.
The strong turnout could be attributed to the efforts of other professors as well.
“One of the professors who teaches Math 100 got her students to go to different debates and forums just to see what kind of math is involved in the process, and to bring it back to class. There are all kinds of ways where we’re trying to involve our students in the Federal Election.”
Thompson requested feedback on the experience, and has had positive responses, and believes the efforts have sparked a conversation among the students.
“I really thought it was important to introduce students to this, and to give them the opportunity to decide who they’re going to vote for, and whether they want to vote or not. Some students have let me know that they’ve heard from other students about voting strategically, so that let me know that they are talking amongst each other about this process.”
In the 2011 federal election, turnout for voters between the ages of 18 to 24 was less than 39 percent.
On Monday, we could very well see that number change- hopefully, for the better.